Sir William Penn

William Penn (23 April 1621-16 September 1670) was an English admiral who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1670. He was the father of William Penn, who was the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania.

Biography
William Penn was born in Bristol, England in 1621, and he sided with the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. In 1648, however, he was arrested for correspondence with the Cavaliers; he used the Parliamentarian cause to increase his own landholdings, applying for grants of the confiscated lands from King Charles II of England's Irish friends. He commanded squadrons during the Anglo-Dutch Wars and commanded the fleet that attacked Hispaniola in 1655, later conquering Jamaica from Spain. In 1660, he was elected to the House of Commons following the restoration of King Charles, and he befriended the Duke of York while escorting Charles on his return from exile in France to England. His high favor with the Duke of York, the future King of England, led to his son, the Quaker nobleman William Penn, receiving royal blessing to colonize a large portion of eastern North America, founding the Province of Pennsylvania.